These Depression Meals Are So Bad We’re Not Sure Whether to Laugh or Cry

Let’s face it, food prep takes effort, and depression usually depletes whatever energy or motivation you have to offer. Trying to cobble together a decent meal requires gathering ingredients (read: grocery shopping or traveling to the refrigerator). Then you have to cook said meal, assemble it and find some sort of delivery vessel to get it into your body. That’s an impossible list of steps when you’re really struggling.

On June 17, Twitter user @hayley_hud posted a call to action on her Twitter account: What’s the ‘worst’ depression meal you’ve ever made? Her tweet quickly elicited thousands of replies and likes because it’s so relatable if you’ve ever struggled with depression. The struggle is real, and sometimes it can help a little to laugh at the absurdity. @hayley_hud started the conversation with her toast recipe.

“Hey y’all please reply with the worst depression meal you’ve ever made…here is my abomination, toast with chick fil a sauce,” she wrote.

Hey y’all please reply with the worst depression meal you’ve ever made…here is my abomination, toast with chick fil a sauce pic.twitter.com/9qIM8aQZ2T

— Saddington 2 ✈️???? (@hayley_hud) June 18, 2019

The responses unearthed a wealth of culinary ingenuity, from lone, abandoned cookies (five-second rule!) and straight maple syrup to peanut cereal, rainbow goldfish and these five unique (and super relatable) takes on ‘worst’ depression meals.

1. The one where utensils aren’t worth it.

“One time I ordered mashed potatoes to be delivered to me bc depression and I didn’t have any utensils on me and was too depressed to move and get some from the kitchen, but did find a bag of tortilla chips near my bed so I ate my mashed potatoes with chips as the utensil.” — @rchlwtrs

One time I ordered mashed potatoes to be delivered to me bc depression and I didn’t have any utensils on me and was too depressed to move and get some from the kitchen, but did find a bag of tortilla chips near my bed so I ate my mashed potatoes with chips as the utensil. ????

— Roald Doll (@rchlwtrs) June 18, 2019

2. The one where food has a secret ingredient.

“Easy cheese is serotonin replacement.” — @nicolesanddimez

easy cheese is serotonin replacement pic.twitter.com/SDGUllMcq5

— nicole (@nicolesanddimez) June 19, 2019

3. The one where microwave operation is too much.

“Frozen meals but they don’t heat up all the way but getting up to make sure they’re fully heated and ready is too much so you just eat still-frozen frozen meals.” — @helloshelbysays

frozen meals but they don't heat up all the way but getting up to make sure they're fully heated and ready is too much so you just eat still-frozen frozen meals

— shelbs (@helloshelbysays) June 20, 2019

4. The one when you’re on a budget.

“I used to stock up on olive garden breadsticks (because they’re free) and put marinara sauce and shredded cheese on them and microwave them and call them mini pizzas.” — @laurenfbach

I used to stock up on olive garden breadsticks (because they’re free) and put marinara sauce and shredded cheese on them and microwave them and call them mini pizzas ????

— Lauren Fehrenbach (@laurenfbach) June 20, 2019

5. The one for when you’re minding your food groups.

“Cheese stick with Nutella and Gatorade. I got all the major food groups in. Cheese, sugar and sport.” — @sisyphussage

Cheese stick with Nutella and Gatorade. I got all the major food groups in. Cheese, sugar and sport

— sage parsley (@sisyphussage) June 18, 2019

In all seriousness, if you can relate to this common depression struggle, you are not alone. A comic artist who goes by the Twitter handle @baph0meat posted a series of comics titled “A Practical Guide to Depression Meals.” The inspiration for the comic series came from personal experience and realizing they weren’t alone.

“I decided to create this because it used to be my everyday life,” @baph0meat told The Mighty. “Depression really robbed me of the ability to make and enjoy food and turned it into something joyless and stressful and embarrassing.”

Depression is a serious mental illness that can really knock you out. If you need support, reach out to loved ones, or post a Thought or Question on The Mighty using the hashtag #CheckInWithMe to give and get support.

If you need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or reach the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741741. For local treatment resources and options in your area, call NAMI’s helpline for free support and information.

If you’re looking for ways to make food prep easier, check out these articles The Mighty community has found helpful:

Share your “worst” depression meal in the comments!

Depression